Advances by Russian forces in the east, airstrikes in the south … Update on the situation

As relations between the United States and Russia have cooled significantly since the occupation of Ukraine, the two countries have agreed to exchange US citizen Trevor Reid with Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian accused of drug trafficking in connection with the Colombian FARC. According to the wife of Konstantin Yaroshenko, the exchange took place in Turkey.

“Former U.S. Marine Trevor released from prison in Russia”Joe Biden wrote Was contacted. “Negotiations that allowed us to bring Trevor home required difficult results, which I did not take lightly.”He added. “His return safely is a testament to my administration’s priority in repatriating Americans held hostage and mistreated abroad.”, he said. He was detained in a penal colony in Mordovia, about 500 km from Moscow. Reid went on a hunger strike in November 2021 against the conditions of his detention.

Russian diplomacy recently announced the transfer of Trevor Reid, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for violence. Konstantin YaroshenkoA Russian pilot has been jailed in the United States for smuggling cocaine, he notes “A Long Negotiation Process”.

Trevor Reid, 30, was sentenced to nine years in prison for assault in July 2020 and August 2019. While intoxicated, two police officers were invited to a party in Moscow. He denied the assault and condemned a lawsuit “Politics” Against the background of Russian-American tensions.

Konstantin Yaroshenko was arrested in 2010 in Liberia by US intelligence officials. On drug trafficking charges, he was taken to the United States, where he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

Washington is still calling for liberation Paul WhelanConvicted in Moscow for spying.

The United States does not expect any improvement in relations with Russia and will continue to support Ukraine despite the exchange, a US official said. The “Discussions with the Russians that led to this exchange were strictly limited to these topics.”not that “No. (In)A great conversation or even (In) Beginning of the ConversationHe said anonymously.

US President Joe Biden has vowed to do everything he can to free Trevor Reid and other Americans “Wrongfully Detained” In Russia, and the hypothesis of prisoner exchange continued to be raised, especially before the June 2021 meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva. The Russian president opened himself to such an opportunity. “Full list” Russians imprisoned in American prisons.

Prisoner exchanges between Moscow and the West continued frequently until the end of the Cold War in 1991, especially since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000. As ten members of the Russian network arrested by the FBI in 2010 were exchanged with two Russians and a researcher working in the CIA and British services, they are often concerned about spies.